This happened a few years ago when I was the groundskeeper at a small hospital. In addition to the plants and greenery, I also maintained the parking lot. In the winter, we were very, very generous with our use of sand in the parking lot for pedestrian traction. We couldn’t have patients or staff falling on their way in.
Every spring, once the snow was done for the season, I had to clean up the parking lot. In addition to all the sand, there was usually garbage and stuff that had been hidden under the snow. Usually, I used heavy equipment with a broom attachment, but this particular year, my supervisor brought me a few hundred feet of fire hose, all the fittings, and the special tools required to open a fire hydrant valve. There was a fire hydrant at one end of the parking lot, near an entrance to the lot from a side street, between the sidewalk and the lot. Another hydrant was at the other end of the lot, outside the building.
Me: “Whoa, this is neat. Is the fire department coming to wash our parking lot this year?”
Supervisor: “No, you’ll be doing it; that’s why I’ve brought you all this equipment.”
Me: “I’m guessing we have the permission needed to use the fire hydrant? I don’t imagine the City or the Fire Department want just anyone using the fire hydrants.”
Supervisor: “These fire hydrants actually belong to the hospital, so we don’t need any special permission.”
This surprised me.
Me: “Really?”
Supervisor: “Yes.”
Me: “Are you sure?”
Supervisor: “Yes.”
Me: “Are you super certain, [Supervisor]?”
Supervisor: “Yes!”
Me: “Okay, if you say so!”
I sort of had my doubts, but my supervisor had never led me astray before, so I made plans for my task. I waited for a sunny day above zero degrees. Due to the shape and layout of the lot, I decided to start at the side entrance first, close to the hydrant, and make my way closer to the centre of the lot. All the sand and garbage would be forced to a particular spot where I would remove it from the lot entirely later. I would have to close parts of the parking lot, in sections, so that vehicles weren’t parking in my workspace — and so that I didn’t accidentally blast anyone’s vehicle with high-pressure water.
Finally, the day to clean the lot arrived. I hooked up my fire hose, ensured that all of the fittings were correctly in place, and opened the valve. As people parked where I wasn’t working, many admired or made comments about my using a fire hose and fire hydrant. Most were surprised that I was allowed to do this.
A few minutes in, a City truck drove by. I waved, as I usually do when they drive by. Ten more minutes passed, and another City truck drove by. There was a City park nearby, so I figured the City workers were getting a jump start on spring cleaning in the park.
After a few more minutes, an unmarked truck drove into the parking lot and around my barricades. I was annoyed because some people don’t think that signs or barricades apply to them. A man got out of the truck and approached me.
Man: “Hi. I’m [Man] from the City. You cannot use this fire hydrant.”
I immediately shut off the water.
Me: “I’m sorry. I’m [My Name] from the hospital. My supervisor, [Supervisor], instructed me to do this. I’ll admit, I was surprised this was allowed!”
Man: “It’s not. Is your supervisor around?”
Me: “I saw him get in a few minutes ago. Let me give him a call.”
I called [Supervisor] and told him that [Man] from the City was shutting me down and that he wanted to talk to him. My supervisor agreed and said he’d be right over.
I asked [Man] if he was okay with me closing the valve and disconnecting my hoses and fittings. He said yes, and he double-checked afterward that the hydrant was secure.
My supervisor arrived, and he and [Man] had a good chat while I started wrapping up hundreds of feet of hose. As it turned out, we did “own” the hydrant outside the building but not the hydrant on the side street. We could technically use the hydrant outside the building, but probably due to the way that water was delivered to the hydrants, we would still need permission from the City to use it — more of a heads-up, so that if there was a fire elsewhere in the city, the firefighters would be aware that a hydrant was already in use and to shut us down if more water pressure was needed for the real fire.
My supervisor did not fight the City on this, but he did decide that this was too much of a hassle for cleaning up the parking lot. While it was fun to use a fire hose, I agreed that I could clean the lot like I usually did: with heavy equipment on a rainy day. I don’t know what happened to the fire hose and fittings my supervisor got.
